Lessons from the Appointment Reminder Launch
Patrick McKenzie recently launched a new product called Appointment Reminder. Actually, it’s just a demo but this was done intentionally. Let me explain.
There is a “lean startup” movement that includes a concept called the MVP, or minimum viable product. The MVP is the first “product” (in quotes because it doesn’t actually need to be a working application as you’d expect for a software product) that you show potential customers with the intention of gathering feedback to determine what to do next. The key is to spend the least amount of your resources (time, money, etc) until you are sure you have a product worth investing in. The main thing you want to find out with the MVP is if there is a market need for your product.
The Appointment Reminder MVP consists of a website and a demo that will call you (your phone will ring) to give you a taste of what the service will be like. Patrick mentioned on Twitter that he started getting messages from people who couldn’t find the “Sign up” button. The thing is, you can’t sign up yet because the product isn’t finished. It’s a great sign though and it perfectly illustrates how the MVP can be used to gauge market demand. It can also be used for getting product feedback or collecting emails.
The lesson is that I had previously thought that the MVP should be a finished, minimal product with core features. Now I realize it’s value is in what you can learn with it, not what it does. I had seen the same lesson illustrated in Dropbox Startup Lessons Learned but it didn’t sink in completely until I saw Patrick’s MVP.
